X-Men Apocalypse: 36 Easter Eggs, In-Jokes & References You Need To See
35. The Mythology Gag
Apocalypse's rise might not follow his appearance in the comics (though it owes a lot to it), but it does owe something to his modern revival. Just as Apocalypse follows a time travelling movie in Days Of Future Past, the character was awoken in the comics from his slumber early by Cable time travelling in the Age Of Apocalypse timeline.
It's a nice gag, and it hints at the use of Age Of Apocalypse as a narrative foundation. (Bryan Singer avoided the title thanks to Marvel's use of Age Of Ultron and the Transformers: Age Of Extinction abomination).
Incidentally, Apocalypse's symbol that is shown in the opening sequence, and which is tattooed on the necks of his followers as a handy guide for who not to trust, seems to mean Given Life (the Ankh heiroglyph is visible in the middle and the pyramid seems to be a simplification of the one for Give).